


Under Your Skin

by ConjureUpaSmile



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angry Makeouts, Confused Steve, Getting Together, Hurt Steve, M/M, Mature Tony, Misunderstandings, PTSD, Panic Attacks, Responsibilites, Self Loathing, mature language, mature themes, mcu - Freeform, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-08-10
Packaged: 2018-04-13 21:42:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4538448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConjureUpaSmile/pseuds/ConjureUpaSmile
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Sure, they mostly got along these days.  They could talk and crack jokes on each others’ expense.  They could even sit alone in comfortable silence when there weren’t any words to be exchanged.  Unfortunately some things just hadn’t changed."</p>
<p>A story about Steve thinking that he'll never be able to get what he truly wants because of who he is and Tony trying to show him that he can.  Or maybe Tony just enjoys making Captain America angry.  Either way they're about to reach a breaking point.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Under Your Skin

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, so I said that I wasn't going to write any more stories after that first one, but I was too pleased by the positive feedback I got. Thank you to everyone who read and left kudos or comments on Centennial Birthday! 
> 
> I guess we'll see what y'all think about this one. It's certainly less sweet than the last one although apparently I have issues completely avoiding fluff. I guess I'm just of the belief that we read/write to escape from our daily lives and therefore stories deserve a happy ending.
> 
> There is sex in this story, although it's probably more awkward than sexy. There's also panic attacks. I apologize if either of those offend anyone, but this is your warning.
> 
> I hope there are people out there that enjoy! As like the last one, this fic is un-beta'ed.

Sure, they mostly got along these days. They could talk and crack jokes on each others’ expense. They could even sit alone in comfortable silence when there weren’t any words to be exchanged. Unfortunately some things just hadn’t changed.

“Stark!” Steve yelled out, trying to quell the urge to deliver a swift punch to Tony’s gut to get the point across. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“Language, Cap,” Tony sneered back from the other side of his lab where his bots were removing his dented suit. This was a fight they had entirely too often.

“Shut the fuck up,” Steve growled, “This is serious! Clint’s ankle could be broken! You have a duty to your teammates! It’s not all about you and what you want to do!”

“Ha! That’s really rich coming from you, Cap! You act like you’re such a team player, but you’re the biggest martyr I’ve ever met!” Tony advanced toward Steve as his anger rose until they were nearly nose to nose.

“Back. Up.” Steve bit out through clenched teeth. 

“Or…?” Tony offered unhelpfully as he inched even closer. The challenge was clearly written across his face.

Well, Steve had tried. He really had. It wasn’t his fault Tony could push all his buttons. It was clearly intentional, so the genius was just asking for Steve to lose his temper. 

“OR I WILL MAKE YOU!” Steve screamed. 

Steve must have been the first one to push but they were soon shoving each other. All he knew was that Tony was no match for the super serum without his high tech suit on. As the two men shoved back and forth, Tony was being forced backward and Steve continued to follow him back, shoving until Tony was shoved back into a wall. 

“What the fuck, Cap! How mature! They think you’re fit to lead? I don’t care how many years you were in the ice, you’re just a child!” 

Several large cracks drew designs across the wall from an epicenter just inches from Tony’s head. Steve hadn’t even realized that he was throwing a punch until it landed.

“Oh yeah? Am I pissing you off more?” Tony continued on, pushing back against Steve, “I bet you want me to shut up, don’t you? I bet you’d like to make me!”

Steve had done just that. Gripping Tony’s jaw roughly, he crashed his mouth down onto Tony’s. Tony’s hands were instantly tangled in the front of Steve’s uniform, grappling for purchase to pull him closer and make it rougher. It wasn’t how Steve had imagined it would be in those few brief moments he had allowed himself to consider what it might be like to kiss Tony. It was all wetness and teeth and trying to force the other man to submit. 

Tony landed a particularly sharp bite to Steve’s bottom lip, causing him to let out a growl and yank Tony’s head back by his hair. 

Tony let out an involuntary gasp and Steve took the opportunity to bite down on the soft skin behind Tony’s ear before moving back to his mouth once more. 

All the anger, all the stress that Steve had managed to build up over the years began to slowly ebb away. He felt the shell he had built up begin to crack just as a crisp voice rang out.

“Sir, Medical would like to inform you and Captain Rogers that Mr. Barton’s ankle is not broken but merely strained,” Jarvis informed the two men.

Steve shoved himself off of Tony and they briefly stared at each other, both panting and giving the other an analyzing look. Without a backward glance, Steve quickly stalked off through the lab door.

 

Steve was hoping to have more time to avoid Tony after “The Incident,” but fate was not so kind. The Avenger Alarm rang the next afternoon, thwarting all Steve’s grandiose plans. Thankfully the space slugs weren’t too tough to handle, the worst part being the copious amount of goo they left behind when they were popped. Surprisingly, Tony was on his best behavior. So much so that Steve almost forgot he was there. That is, until that last slug.

Thor had just zapped the last slug into oblivion that Ironman had trapped in a twisted piece of metal siding that conveniently kept the post pop goo at bay. The team was beginning to congregate to debriefing orders when Steve noticed that Tony was still supporting the goo-containing metal. He was staring down at Clint who had just stepped within what Cap estimated would be within sliming distance. 

“Ironman, set that metal down so that the slime remains contained. Then, we’ll all need to aid in clean up, decontaminate ourselves, and meet on Tower level 79 for debriefing.

Tony was still staring down at Hawkeye.

“Ironman…” Steve warned.

The Ironman mask swiveled to look at Steve, but the pilot remained silent. The mask turned back to Hawkeye, then up to the goo that the armor was holding at bay, then finally back at Steve. Clint was still blissfully naive as he bantered with Black Widow over the coms.

“Tony, don’t!” Steve tried again in his best Captain America voice, but it was too late. The metal crashed to the ground, Clint was covered in space slug goo that contained who-knows-what, and the Ironman suit was quickly becoming a shiny speck in the sky as it beelined back to Avengers Tower. 

Steve was sure that the remaining four teammates were none too please about him going against his own orders to chase Tony back to the tower, but his anger wouldn’t allow him to wait. 

Tony was, of course, in his lab when Steve finally made it back. The Ironman suit was already sitting in a decontamination chamber and Steve stalked straight over to it, yanking off his own contaminated suit as he began his tirade.

“Did you really think that was funny? I don’t know how you can be so stupid when you’re supposed to be a genius! We have no idea what’s in that space slug slime and you drenched Clint in it! Do you just have something out for him? Is that what this is?” Steve finished throwing his suit into the chamber with Tony’s suit and stomped over a surprisingly calm Tony, Steve wearing nothing more than his boxer briefs. 

“Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?” Steve yelled.

Tony’s face broke into a smirk that made Steve’s blood boil. “Whoops?”

“Seriously, Tony?! This isn’t a game! Lives are at stake!” Steve was still yelling but had stopped about a foot away from the undersuit clad mechanic. 

Tony was still entirely too calm for how angry he was making Steve. He seemed calculating for a second before his smile widened and he replied, “You would think after being on ice for 70 years after a failed suicide attempt that you’d know how to chill out, Capsicle. Who died and left you in charge, anyway? I’m not your soldier and I don’t have to listen to you!”

Then they were kissing again. It was if they had picked up where they had left off just over 24 hours ago, biting, licking, each trying to dominate, but with a touch of tenderness that yesterday’s kiss had begun hinting at. Steve’s hands stayed on the back of Tony’s neck and tangled in his hair, but Tony’s hands roughly’s explored Steve’s exposed skin. 

Thankfully Steve had still been young when he realized that he wasn’t supposed to feel attraction to other boys. It hadn’t been too terrible since he was attracted to women as he was supposed to be, but some nights he had laid awake thinking of what it would feel like to kiss Bucky. After those kinds of night, he’d have to avoid his best friend because he felt too guilty from allowing himself to dream about such illicit things. The feelings didn’t go away after he was injected with Dr. Erskine’s serum, much to Steve’s dismay.

There had been men in the army that sought comfort in each others’ arms, but Steve had never allowed himself such a thing. After all, he had been attracted to Peggy and that should have been enough. He had tried, well, Natasha had tried on his behalf, to find a 21st century lady he was attracted to, but so far he’d been too distracted by the greasy genius that pushed all his buttons.

Tony grinding his hips into Steve’s snapped the super soldier back to reality. He was suddenly painfully aware of both of their arousals. 

“Cap! Wait!” Tony called, grabbing at Steve’s wrist as he turned to run out of the lab, “Jarvis analyzed the slug goo back there. It’s benign.”

Steve just shook his arm out of Tony’s grasp and left. 

 

The third time was about a week later after Tony dropped and shattered Steve’s favorite coffee mug and tried to blame Steve for leaving it too close to the edge of the counter even though Steve swore that he had placed it back in the cupboard. 

 

The fourth time was in response to Bruce almost hulking out inside the tower after the punching bag in the communal gym let out an unexpected electric shock when he scientist tried to use it.

 

It wasn’t exactly the fifth time, so Steve was considering it the fourth and half time. It was close to 2am and Steve was having too many nightmares to sleep. A common occurrence in this household, it had become an unspoken agreement that those who couldn’t sleep met in the communal living room. He was still searching for something on the television to drown out the memories when Tony padded into the room and dropped down next to him on the big plush sofa. Despite all the available room, Tony sat where his shoulder and thigh came into contact with Steve’s. It wasn’t unusual for the teammates to seek out physical contact after PTSD fueled nightmares, but this was different. Steve stopped his channel surfing on a cartoon and leaned back into the contact. No words were exchanged between the insomniacs, just fingers that brushed up against each other and instinctively laced. Steve was dozing off as Tony’s head gently rolled into his and Steve allowed his head to press back. Their faces turned inward and noses brushed, guiding their lips together and coaxing out what was just barely a kiss. Then it was just sleep. Tony was gone when Steve woke up a few hours later, as if he hadn’t been any more than a dream.

 

It wasn’t the morning following the couch episode but the one after. Steve was letting out frustration on the new, non-electrified punching bag as was his routine. He punished the bag for the people he lost, for the goodbyes he never got to say, for the unfairness of the world, and, most recently, for how infuriating one certain teammate could be. Sure, he was avoiding Tony, but the brunette hadn’t sought him out at all. This was all Tony’s fault. Alright, so he wasn’t entirely sure what “this” was, but it was obviously Tony’s fault. How could it be that he lost his temper so frequently with Tony? It was so infrequent that anyone else aggravated Steve to the point of yelling, but Tony was just…just…under his skin.

A knock on the doorframe caught Steve’s attention. Speak of the devil. “Hey, Cap!” Tony called and strolled over.

Steve nodded, slightly winded from several hours of his one sided battle with the bag.

“Got a minute?” Tony asked. One of his media smiles was plastered on and his sunglasses made the rest of his expression unreadable.

“What can I do for you, Tony?” Steve replied.

Tony stood there silently for several minutes, watching Steve half-heartedly throw punches at the swinging bag. Steve was just starting to wonder if Tony had fallen asleep standing up when the shorter man shifted and cleared his throat.

“So you know how Pepper hasn’t been by in six months or so?” Tony started.

“Five months and two weeks,” Steve responded. He really didn’t see what the point was here but he wasn’t liking where this was going so far. They had all noticed Pepper’s sudden absence and Tony’s week long grieving session that coincided. Sure, Steve and Tony had never outright talked about it, so why mention it now?

“Are you sure it wasn’t six months? Feels more like six months to me. Right, right, five months and two weeks. You know what? We’ll just meet in the middle and call it five months and three weeks. Don’t give me that look, Cap, I’m getting to the point. Right, well, things haven’t been going so well between Pep and me. It really started back before that whole thing with Killian and Extremis. I thought I could buy us more time by getting rid of the suits, but I’m pretty sure that both of us have known for a long time that we just weren’t cut out for each other.” 

Tony paused and Steve looked over his shoulder at him to show Tony that he was still listening. He knew that the really should stop fighting his punching bag, but Tony was making him more uncomfortable with the topic at hand than he had been with just his presence and throwing punch after punch kept Steve’s nerves at bay and the knot in his stomach from becoming too tight.

“Alright, well, the point is that I – that is to say we – though it was – Cap, we broke up last night.”

The reinforced punching bad slamming into the floor 20 yards away, spilling its contents all over the previously spotless floor, was just the beginning of Steve’s reaction. He thought he might throw up.

“You were still together. Up until today.” Steve’s first words were icy cold and didn’t hold as much of a question as Steve had intended them to. “What the fuck, Tony?! How could you do this to Pepper? To me? You led all of us to believe that you had broken up months ago!”

This had to be an all time low. Steve was shaking with fury. Honestly he was just as mad at himself as he was at Tony. He should have never allowed himself to have those moments with Tony. Still, Tony should have stopped Steve much sooner. 

“One, I never said that we broke up before!” Tony spat back, “ You assumed and I think you know full and well what assuming does, Cap! Two, if you had ever thought to ask me, I could have told you that five months as two weeks ago, as you so helpfully reminded me, Pepper told me she needed to back off from our relationship.”

“And just what the hell is that supposed to mean?” Steve asked, fury all but abated.

“It means, asshole, that she no longer wanted to be in a relationship with me. She wanted to see other people, explore her other options, wanted to free herself of her obligations to me! It fucking hurt, thanks for asking. We may have still been dating, but not exclusively. And if you think for a second that she didn’t take full advantage of that, well I have news for you, Capsicle! She did! So maybe you should stop judging me and look at the facts! I broke it off with her, completely that is, last night when I realized I had a good reason to!”

“Oh really, Stark? So just what’s your holy and just reason-“

“You are such an idiot, Spangles! Everyone says you’re supposed to brilliant, but you’re just as dense as every other camo-wearing-mindless grunt—“

Suddenly Steve couldn’t stand Tony hiding behind those damn sunglasses anymore. He snatched at Tony’s face, Tony barely getting a chance to react before he was blinking in the bright light and the designer sunglasses were in pieces inside Steve’s fist.

Tony’s usually lively brown eyes were rimmed in red, dark circles beneath sitting in stark contrast. Vaguely Steve realized that the brunette insomniac couldn’t have possibly have slept since their late night couch encounter.

“Is that what you really think of the thousands of men and women that risk their lives every day for our wellbeing?” Steve was seething again.

“I sincerely hope that you’re aware that you’re going to pay for those both literally and figuratively and no, Walnut Brain, I just think that about the pretentious assholes that think they’re all high and mighty and so much smarter and handsomer than they actually are!”

Just to prove to Tony that he couldn’t make Steve do anything, Steve grabbed Tony’s collar and each side of his throat. At first it seemed like Tony was expecting the contact, as if he had moved forward into Steve’s reach, but then changed his mind as he felt pressure around his neck. Hooking his fingers inside the collar of the designer shirt, Steve pulled his hands in opposite directions, rending it in twain. 

“Fuck you!,” Tony spat, but he was reaching for Steve’s shirt. It may not have been quite as impressive as Steve’s move, but the motion was effective and Tony tore a long line in Steve’s favorite workout shirt. 

Didn’t matter. Steve was already reaching for Tony’s jeans. Who did he think he was, anyway? He were supposed to be functional, but Steve was sure that these jeans had never seen a speck of dirt or a drop of sweat in their entire career as part of Tony’s wardrobe. Not even the leather belt stood a chance against the super serum and in a split second Tony’s fancy jeans were shredded. Tony seemed too distracted to notice, latched onto Steve’s neck, biting, licking, and sucking. 

Steve had no idea what that noise was that escaped from his mouth, but somehow his brain wasn’t working well enough to launch an investigation. With Tony’s pants in pieces on the gym floor there was no hiding his erection. 

Steve was starting to face facts as Tony’s member ground into the soldier’s stomach and their mouths clashed together. He was mad, absolutely livid, at the prospect of Tony being unfaithful to Pepper. He was relieved that was not actually the case. He was pissed thinking of Tony sharing these kinds of moments with anyone but him. Most of all, he was confused. Steve was confused about what Tony said, about his these feelings that were coursing through him all at once, and about what exactly he and Tony were doing.

Now wasn’t the time for reflection. Not when Tony caught Steve by the wrist and guided his hand to Tony’s hard cock. The moans that the mechanic released when Steve touched him were the only instructions the super soldier needed as he worked Tony until his body gave out and the smaller man reached his release. 

So, that would make it the fifth time they had one of their encounters. 

Tony collapsed his weight into Steve and Steve allowed himself a minute to enjoy the contact. Tony was mumbling, but Steve couldn’t hear him over the panic that was building with each passing second. What had they just done? Who was he? Steve was definitely not acting like himself. Why was Tony letting him act like this? He needed to get his feelings in check before…well before Steve did something worse. 

“I have to go,” was all Steve managed to say as he pushed Tony back onto his own feet. He could feel Tony watching him leave the room, but the smaller man didn’t say anything. Steve returned to his room and sat on the floor of his shower, hot water on full blast. Why was he acting like this, Steve could only wonder as the scorching water burned his skin.

 

If Steve was avoiding Tony before, this was an all out black out. See no Tony, hear no Tony, do no Tony. Or something like that. It was for Tony’s own good, after all, Steve reasoned. It allowed him to feel less guilty as he kept himself locked away in his own room, so that was something. 

After three weeks, Steve found that he had to get out every now and again for a scenery change, so he allowed himself to go running. The only problem was that Tony must have instructed Jarvis to notify him of Steve’s comings and goings because Tony would coincidentally be waiting just inside the doors Steve would have to enter through to get back to his room. 

The first few times, Tony didn’t say anything. It was almost as if he was trying to give Steve the change to break the silence first. Unluckily for Steve, Tony isn’t a patient man. After waiting for Steve obviously wasn’t working at the pace Tony had decided it should, he starting trying to breech the silence by offering Steve “good morning” ‘s and “hey there, Cap” ‘s. Steve would just nod in response with a polite, “Tony,” as if the genius’s name alone was enough of a response to let the man know his thoughts. 

 

See, so it really wasn’t his fault when the sixth encounter happened. The nightmare was one that he had been having increasingly often. It was a montage of Tony falling from the open train door, Tony begging him not to crash the plane, Tony going into the wormhole and it closing without him returning, watching Tony’s home fall into the ocean and no one struggling out of the water, Tony getting shot in the chest as he tries to give him a warning, Tony riddled with holes as he sacrifices himself to save a teammate and a child, and lastly Tony begging him not to crash the plane. 

Steve jerks awake, sweaty, stomach churning, and so incredibly cold. He wills himself to still, fighting the urge to get up and run. Or fight. Or both. His muscles won’t stop clenching despite his brain’s instructions. It’s a whole minute before he hears it. He hears footsteps outside his bedroom door. The bedroom door that has a locked hallway door between it and the rest of the tower. The footsteps get closer, pause, step away, then quickly get closer. Grabbing his shield, Steve leaps from bed and in one swift tug rips the door off its hinges. His shield is poised to strike but he’s quickly ripped from attack mode by an all too familiar voice.

“Jesus, Cap! What the fuck?” Tony’s arm is outstretched and a gauntlet he’s sure was just summoned from the workshop by Tony’s sudden spike in heart rate is snapping itself into place with repulsor ready.

“Me?” Steve asked incredulously, “You’re the one who broke into my room in the middle of the night!”

“I didn’t break in! I used the override codes!”

“There are no override codes for a deadbolt!”

“Okay, fine! I picked the lock!”

Steve dropped his shield at that and grabbed his hair in frustration. He stalked back toward the bed hoping some distance from Tony would calm his nerves. Turned out it didn’t and Tony took Steve’s retreat as an invitation to enter.

“What right do you have to break into MY room?” Steve questioned.

Tony paused, pacing momentarily before coming to stand nose to nose with Steve. Steve watched and Tony fought to spit out his comeback. When he did answer, his voice was soft, almost pleading.

“Cap…you were calling for me.” Tony’s eyes searched Steve’s for answers. He added, “Jarvis told me. Woke me up. Then I could hear you from the common area.”

It was definitely Tony that initiated this time. Steve nipped and pushed and fought against Tony’s mouth, this time the mechanic submitting to his captain. He continued to pour out all his stress and built up anger and Tony just accepted it. It was comfort. Tony reached up and carded his hands through Steve’s hair. Steve couldn’t do anything but cling to the smaller man, pulling him closer and holding him tighter as if he might slip through his grasp at any second. 

It was Steve that settled them on the bed. Just as naturally as it began, it stopped. Steve wasn’t ready to let go, but Tony didn’t ask him to either. They just laid there and Tony stroked Steve’s hair and back. 

“What would you think,” Tony started, “about going to get dinner sometime? It’d be just you and me. There’s this thing next Saturday at eight—“

Steve didn’t know that his body was still capable of vomiting, but sure enough it was. Maybe the super serum had suddenly turned off because it was like his asthma was back full force. He couldn’t breathe. It felt like the whole world was spinning around him. He tried to scramble, get up, get air, but the air was suddenly as thick as syrup. He couldn’t breathe and now he couldn’t see and it sounded like Tony was calling to him from under water. Maybe the tower had suddenly flooded. They all needed to get out. He tried to tell Tony to get to safety, but he couldn’t get enough air to speak. 

He was on his feet but swaying. Tony’s arms were wrapped tight around his neck, the tips of his toes brushing the ground since Steve had a couple inches on him. Tony was begging Steve to breathe. Why would Tony be asking him to breathe in the water? He was running out of oxygen and started to slump to the floor, but Tony guided him back to the bed. Brown doe eyes met Steve’s crystal blues and the blonde man tried to follow Tony’s far away voice guiding him to breathe in and out in slow, deep breaths.

He let Steve shake and, when the tears finally came, he let Steve cry. Eventually Tony began talking. It wasn’t about anything in particular. It was about what he’s eaten in the last month, probably in the order that he ate it. When he ran out of meals, he talked about the weather. That didn’t last long because Tony rarely sees daylight. He quickly switched to Fibonacci’s number sequence, or maybe it was the numerals in pi. Steve couldn’t keep up. All he knew was that he drifted off listening to Tony’s lilting voice rattling off memorized numbers. 

 

When Steve woke, he found his head pressed into rough fabric. It was denim. It was pants. Oh, the pants were being worn by one Tony Stark, who had apparently passed out sitting up against Steve’s headboard at some point while rattling off numbers mindlessly. 

Steve fought hard against the memory of Tony asking him about Saturday at eight. Even though it had been scores of years ago since Peggy had mad the same request, it felt like just days for Steve. Sure, he had been in this new world for nearly half a dozen years, but he heard those same words in his dreams. They used to be spoken by dream Peggy, but now it was dream Tony that pled with Steve to keep their date. 

He could feel the bile rising in his throat as his mind started to get away from him. He sat up to try to gain purchase on reality, causing Tony to become unbalanced from his position and shoot awake as he jostled.

“One million three hundred forty-six thousand two hundred sixty nine!” Tony called out from his sleep stupor.

Steve couldn’t help but laugh. “Go back to sleep, Tony.” It was hard not to sound affectionate. Tony just nodded blearily and allowed himself to sink into Steve’s mattress. The soldier covered the brunette with the quilt and headed into the shower to clean up. He wasn’t sure what he had expected to find when he return, but it was a shock to find Tony missing. The quilt was folded back where it came from, as if the genius had never been there.

 

 

Steve had every intention of resuming the radio silence, but the Avenger Alarm had other ideas. Seeing as it had been nearly a month since their last call, he really couldn’t complain too much. Still, no one was very excited about dealing with a giant, fire-breathing horse. The heroes quickly realized that the back end was nearly as dangerous as the front when Thor was knocked out the air with a blink-quick kick from the angry equid. 

With Tony on his best behavior, though, it just didn’t feel right. He listened to Steve’s every order and kept the chatter to a minimum. It made Steve’s stomach clench up in a way he had a feeling it shouldn’t. 

“What is with you, Tin Man?” Clint called out, firing grappling hook arrows in an attempt to trip up the giant steed.

“Got a problem, Birdbrain?” Tony bit back, dodging fire.

“I don’t, actually. You, on the other hand, are like a pouting toddler. Nat, on your six!” Clint pressed on.

Ironman paused over the archer for a moment before Tony’s voice replied, “Bite me, Barton.”

“Chatter,” Steve half-heartedly reminded them.

Tony silently returned his attention to the task at hand but Hawkeye couldn’t drop it. 

“Oooohhh! I get it now! What happened Tony? Did Cap hurt you? Do you want to show me on a doll where he touched you?” 

That rattled Steve just enough long enough to earn him a kick in the stomach from their foe and left him having to drag himself out of the rubble of the wall he was sent through. Hawkeye was still cackling over the coms by the time Steve caught up to the group. 

“Look, you’ve obviously upset Cap’s old fashioned sensibilities. He was too busy clutching his pearls to defend himself from Seabiscuit. He’s not going to be pleased about that and you’re going to have to deal with him when he does his star spangled Hulk impression. Thank you. Really. Now you’re at the top of his shit list instead of me. Secondly, I doubt anyone could touch me anywhere I wouldn’t like, let alone Captain Adonis,” Tony snarked back.

“You’re both the at the top of my shit list,” Steve snapped, trying to tamp down the blush that he was sure had spread from the tips of his ears, down his cheeks, and was now working its way down his neck. “Now cut the chatter or you’re going to be doing the case write ups for the next year.”

“Language!” Ironman called as he shot back up into the air.

One of these days Steve was going to snap and kill him. Seriously. It was probably only a matter of days now. Clint’s coughing to hide his laughter really wasn’t making Tony’s situation any better. 

Hulk’s bellow signifying that Bruce had finally entered the fray jarred Steve’s thoughts back to the bigger problem at hand. He would worry about the infuriating billionaire-genius-playboy-philanthropist after the horse had been dealt with. 

It turns out that a horse dragon is no match for a hulk. With that taken care of, Natasha strutted over to Steve to check him for wounds and knock off a bit of the brick dust that coated the super soldier. A repulsor beam hit the ground millimeters from Clint’s toes when he turned to make a smartass comment to Steve, causing Natasha to give her partner a meaningful glare.

“C’mon, Nat. I hate it when mommy and daddy fight, don’t you?”

A second low force repulsor beam knocked Hawkeye off his feet and for once Steve let himself be guided back to base by Black Widow’s gentle hand. 

“Go get cleaned up, Steve. There’s someone I want you to meet tonight.”

“Tonight? Seriously, Nat?”

“You don’t do well knowing that you’ve got a date planned.” Alright, so that was a little too truthful and it made Steve physically wince. Of course Natasha had known the response her words would get so there was no beating around the bush at this point. Steve just sighed. 

“Who is it this time?” Natasha raised her left eyebrow but kept silent so Steve pressed on. “Linda from accounting? You know that she just broke up with her fiancé and I don’t think I want to step into the middle of that.”

“Linda is nice.”

“I didn’t say she wasn’t.”

“Well lucky for you, your mystery woman isn’t Linda.”

“Just tell me who she is, Nat.”

“Go get cleaned up, Steve.”

“I don’t wanna?”

“Go get cleaned up, Steve.”

“Please, Natasha. I really don’t want to go.”

“Go get cleaned up, Steve.”

“What if I just say no?”

“Don’t you trust me?”

“I think I’ve proved that.”

“Go get cleaned up, Steve.”

Steve got cleaned up. He wasn’t happy about it, but he would do Natasha this one favor and forever prove to her and that he didn’t need to be set up on a date. Natasha was waiting for him when he got out of the shower, much to Steve’s embarrassment. She ignored his disapproving glare and continued fishing through his wardrobe. Steve tried telling her that she was being rude, that he should have been given more notice, but Natasha kept going about her business of picking out an outfit. She vetoed the trusty blue plaid shirt and urged him into a solid pastel blue button down and black slacks.

As Natasha rolled Steve’s sleeves up to elbow length, Steve tried questioning her again.

“So, who is she?”

“Just relax,” Natasha soothed.

“Where am I meeting her?”

“Go get in the Rolls Royce, Steve.” She finished with his sleeves and stepped back, all softness gone from her voice.

“Please, Nat. I really don’t want to go.” Steve tried reasoning with the spy one more time.

“Give me one good reason why you shouldn’t go.” Natasha was offering him an out. Now was his chance to take it. All he had to do was tell her about whatever this thing was with Tony. All he had to do was put his feelings on the line and admit that there was something about Tony’s smile that made his heart beat faster and that all he wanted was to wake up next to the brunette again and let him make up cute nicknames for Steve…but then she would know. Then he would have to admit all these things to himself. Then Tony would surely find out. Steve wasn’t sure what would happen then, but his stomach told him that it wouldn’t be anything good.

Choking down the lump in his throat, he threw on his lopsided Captain America grin and tried, “I could give you a dozen reasons, Ms. Romanoff.” 

She obviously wasn’t buying it. 

“I’m sure you could, Steve, but none of them would be good enough.” Natasha squeezed his elbow as if to reassure him. Well, with plans A through D failing to get him out of a blind date, Steve resorted to plan E. Apparently it involved saying her name until she let him off the hook.

“Natasha.”

“Steve.”

“Natasha.”

“Steve.”

“Natasha.”

“Go get in the car, Steve.”

“Fine.” One of these days Steve would win an argument with the Black Widow, but obviously that day was not going to be today. He just sighed and headed toward the garage. 

Sure enough there was a driver already in the Rolls Royce who seemed to know where to take Steve. He tried to shut down his mind, to block out Peggy’s voice as she begged him not to be late, to shake the image of Tony naked and debauched from his mind. Maybe he would never be okay. Maybe he would never be ready to move on. Maybe he’d never be what the dames wanted. Once upon a time, before he had seen all the evil that forced him to grow up far too quickly, Steve had been unappealing to women physically even though he was psychologically a good candidate. Now that he was physically everything any woman could ever want, he was far too broken to be desirable.

Beyond all that, Steve wasn’t sure he wanted to get involved with anyone else. Tony continued to plague his thoughts and the knot in Steve’s stomach continued to grow. He could still feel Tony’s lips on his. Steve could still feel the brunette’s fingers in his hair as he soothed him to sleep. Maybe that was the real reason that this blind date didn’t feel right. 

The car stopped and Steve awkwardly exited with a thank you to his driver. He tried asking how he should contact the driver for a ride home, but the older man behind the wheel just smiled and gave Steve a polite, “Have a good evening, Captain.”

Alright. Steve assumed that the staircase he was dropped off in front of was the place he should be entering. The door was simple but a welcoming light shone from within. A maitre’d smiled at Steve as he entered and he politely nodded back.

Without a word, the maitre’d moved toward the seating area and Steve nervously followed. Was he supposed to be following? Was the maitre’d going to suddenly turn around and ask him what he was doing? He followed anyway.

He saw him back in a corner and his stomach dropped. Rudely pushing past the elderly maitre’d, Steve beelined straight to his table as if he were being pulled in by a tractor beam.

“Tony! What are you doing here?”

Tony looked up with a jolt, dropping the fork that he was previously attempting to balance on the salt shaker.

“Cap? I thought I was supposed to be meeting up with Pepper…but now I’m thinking that’s not the case,” Tony finished as the maitre’d pulled the seat across from Tony’s out so that Steve could be seated.

“You know, I’m starting to get that impression, too,” Steve agreed incredulously.

“Well, have a seat, Grandpa.” Tony offered

Steve did. Surprisingly, conversation came easily. Steve found himself too distracted by the way Tony’s casual suit fit on his athletic form to know what he wanted to order by the time the waiter came by to collect them. He tried asking the waiter what he would recommend, but Tony cut in, waving off Steve’s protests as he ordered for him. Steve found himself torn between scowling in disapproval at Tony’s brashness and smiling because Tony knew him well enough to order for him.

Of course the clams were delicious. Of course Tony was actually wonderful company. Of course the night went by entirely too fast. Steve wasn’t sure when he had relaxed, but he suddenly realized that he was extremely glad that he got to spend the night with Tony. The desire to scowl at the genius completely disappeared as the night wore on. Naturally, he didn’t want to think about the ‘why’s’ or ‘how’s’ to Nat and Pepper arranging this dinner. That could be addressed later when he wasn’t allowing himself to enjoy what he had been denying himself for so long.

Steve let Tony finish the lasts bite of tiramisu they had decided to split because he loved the face the mechanic made as he enjoyed the dessert. Tony’s eyes closed and he savored and it was, for lack of a better word, adorable. Of course he could never tell him that. Tony’s eyes opened and his face lit up with a smile as they made eye contact.

“What do you say we get out of here, buddy?” Tony asked.

“The bill?”

Tony waved his hand in front of his face dismissively. “I already took care of that,” he reassured.

They took Tony’s Camero home. Tony drives much in the same way that he talks: too fast and somewhat erratic, often times losing focus. Somehow it was as fun as it was terrifying. Just like Tony, Steve thought wryly. 

They talked and joked comfortably all the way from the garage to Steve’s door. When they reached a natural pause in conversation, their eyes met. For a second Steve considered kissing him, but his nerves got the better of them. Finally, Tony broke the silence.

“Can I come in for coffee, Cap?

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Steve winced at his own awkwardness. “Are you sure you want coffee?” Steve asked as he led the way inside his set of rooms. “I mean, it’s already late. Are you planning on going down to the lab and working through the night? Don’t tell me I’ve kept you from some deadline…” Busying himself with the coffee pot, Steve was jerked out of his train of thought by Tony’s hand on his shoulder. He turned to find the smaller man giving him an adoring, sympathetic look, eyes dancing with laughter.

“Cap. Capsicle. Put the coffee down.” Tony pried the carafe from Steve’s hands chuckling at the blonde’s bewildered expression. 

“But…you asked…didn’t…?” Tony couldn’t contain himself anymore when Steve failed to put together a sentence. He was still shaking with mirth as he wrapped his arms around Steve’s neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. 

It was unsettling, for lack of a better word. It wasn’t sharp or harsh, no nip of teeth to give the kiss an edge. This wasn’t a kiss Steve could write off as being a moment of passion or fear or any other emotion that wasn’t pure affection. 

Steve moved his hand to the back of Tony’s head to support it as he tilted his own head down to fully devour the smaller man’s mouth. All Tony had to do was let out a filthy moan and Steve was done for. 

Button skittered across the floor and into dark corners as Steve ripped Tony’s shirt open and off. He pressed Tony backwards and backwards, guiding him toward the bedroom. Steve tried desperately to get his mind to shut off, to just allow himself to enjoy the night and take what he’d been wanting from the time he first set eyes on Howard’s son in that helicarrier. It certainly helped that Tony’s cock sprang out of his trousers as Steve released it from the confines of the man’s pants. For some reason the thought of Tony having not worn underwear that night was extremely arousing. 

He could do this. He could make it through the encounter. His resolve faltered slightly as Tony undid the button’s on Steve’s shirt and began working on his fly. Steve pushed Tony back once more, the back of his legs finally making contact with Steve’s bed causing the brunette to tumble back onto it.

For a moment both men just stared at each other, panting from the kiss they just broke. Steve drank in Tony’s naked form. He had never wanted anyone so badly in his entire life. No one, not even Peggy, had been able to move Steve like Tony Stark. On top of that, Tony was going to let Steve take what he wanted.

“God, Cap,” Tony breathed as he sat up and began pawing at Steve’s fly again. “You are so perfect. You’re damn magnificent. I want you so fucking bad. Look at how hard you’ve made me, baby, and you haven’t even touched me yet.” 

Steve’s own member sprung skyward, freed from its fabric prison as Tony pushed’s Steve’s slacks and boxers to the floor in one swift movement. Tony’s eyes were half lidded with lust and Steve was sure that his couldn’t be much different. 

Tony froze for just a moment as he looked at Steve’s cock hungrily. Steve reached out and allowed himself to run his fingers through Tony’s soft, unruly hair. Tony leaned into the contact and let out a half moan as Steve made a fist in the hairs at back of his head and tugged. Tony dug his fingers into to Steve’s hips in return and made eye contact with the blonde as he stuck his tongue out to taste Steve’s cock. 

Tony chuckled as Steve let out a garbled version of his name. 

“That’s right, sweetheart,” Tony said between licking long stripes up and down Steve’s twitching cock. “Think of how great it’s going to feel to fuck me.”

All the thoughts Steve was trying to repress started bubbling to the surface. No, he could do this. This is how things worked now. It wasn’t a big deal. He was never going to get the life he had dreamed of, so what did it matter anyway. No one cared who slept with who. He could get this over with and be a notch on Tony’s belt and feel the love of another man. He could do this.

“I’m going to have you screaming my name as I take your virginity, Cap.”

“NO!” It slipped out of Steve’s mouth before he could stop it and now it was just going to keep coming. “No! No! It was supposed to be like this!” Just like the night before, Steve’s chest started growing tighter and he shoved the smaller man away. Tony managed to grab his hand and pulled himself up to stand nose to nose with the taller man.

“Steve…” It was soft and it broke whatever was left of the super soldier.

He could barely hear Tony trying to reassure him that they didn’t have to do anything Steve didn’t want to do in the background as he fixed his slacks on his way to the door. Steve wasn’t sure where he was going, but it wasn’t here. Before he realized what was happening, Steve was outside. 

It was too cold. 

So he ran. 

And he kept running.

New York turned to New Jersey, then Pennsylvania, which became Maryland. When he saw a sign welcoming him to West Virginia, Steve finally stopped. His feet were raw and he was sure to be drawing some attention. The last thing he needed was to be babysat by SHILED again. He had finally convinced them that he was stable enough to take care of himself and didn’t want his adulthood revoked again. 

He took in his surroundings. He could hear noises associated with a small town probably just a couple miles down the road. Steve would need a shirt, though. And shoes, of course. Did he even have his wallet? No, the answer to that question was no. Steve didn’t have his phone, either. Not that the latter mattered, though. There wasn’t anyone he wanted to contact and he certainly didn’t want anyone trying to contact him, either. 

Woods it was, then. 

Dawn was just breaking and Steve could use a hike.

As Steve traversed the mountain, he finally started allowing himself to think about what he had walled off his mind against since his feet hit the pavement back in New York. He let himself think about Tony, about Peggy and Bucky, and about everything he was supposed to want. 

He already knew he was there. Now wasn’t the time, though. He needed time and space, but obviously he wasn’t going to get that so he at least deserved time to collect his thoughts before Steve Rogers had to become Captain America again.

That was just it. Couldn’t he just be Steve Rogers? Couldn’t he be a nobody from Brooklyn that ran his mouth too much and made ends meet through artwork?

Steve asked for this. He knew that. It just got a little heavy some times. This was his burden to bear, but it didn’t make it any easier to carry it. Sometimes he just needed a few hours of being Steve. Sometimes he needed to talk to the one person who let him feel like Steve. 

He sighed. Alright, it was time to find a place to stop. 

Steve found a rocky clearing that looked out over the valley far below. It was late enough in the year that some trees were getting a tinge of their fall colors. He stood for a few minutes, but when he didn’t join him, Steve finally sat.

After some time Steve heard soft footsteps in the brush behind him.

“What did you do with the suit?” Steve asked. An uncomfortable pause followed before he was finally offered an answer.

“I stored the briefcase behind a rock back there. I didn’t want you to feel attacked.”

Steve didn’t turn around. Seeing him would just make him weak. Instead he asked, “How long have you been following me?”

“Since about 10th street.” The answer came quicker this time. 

“Really? 10th? I must be slipping.” Thankfully Tony picked up on the joke and let out a soft chuckle. Maybe they could get through this.

“Well, in your defense I had Jarvis following you on street cams and ATM cams and that sort of things. I didn’t start following you in the suit until you reached—“

“Lancaster?” Steve offered.

“Yeah…Lancaster…” Tony agreed.

“Really?” 

“Well, okay, it was closer to Philly.” Steve laughed this time.

“Damn! I am slipping!” The sun was just poking over the farthest mountain, bathing the valley in blues and golds. The two men fell into uncomfortable silence until Tony awkwardly approached to sit next to Steve.

Steve saw that Tony was wearing one of Steve’s shirts and a pair of his boxers. Well, that certainly didn’t make this any easier. He still couldn’t look Tony in the eye right now or he might back out. 

They continued to sit in silence while Steve worked up the nerve. Finally, he burst into speech. He told Tony about how he used to have indecent thoughts about Bucky. He told him how relieved he had been that he could have had a future with Peggy. He told him about the emptiness he felt when the other soldiers found refuge in each others’ arms. How he couldn’t ever have what he wanted because he was Captain America and would never get to be Steve Rogers again. He told Tony about the moment of relief he felt when he found out that he might have the chance to live out his desires in this century and the next moment how he was crushed remembering that it didn’t change the fate he had accepted so many years ago.

Finally, he told Tony about Tony, about how he managed to outshine everyone from Steve’s past. How Tony had become his darkest desire. How he used to dream about courting Tony wooing him. 

Somewhere along the story, their fingers had found each other like they had that one night on the couch. Tony pressed his body into Steve’s and the weight became reassuring as Steve continued to talk.

Finally, he told Tony about how badly he wished he could give Tony what he wanted, how he wished he could be just another notch on his bed post. He wished that he could give Tony up. He wished he could, but he couldn’t. It meant too much to him. Tony meant too much to him. He told Tony that he wants to give him his virginity. He wants to, but that’s a life he can never have.

Steve was starting to think that Tony might have fallen asleep. He wasn’t aware the the mechanic was capable of being quiet for so long. 

Nope, he wasn’t asleep. He pulled Steve’s hand toward him and placed it on the side of his face. For the first time that morning, Steve finally allowed himself to look at Tony. The man’s eyes were sad and lined with dark shadows. His hair was still mussed from Steve manhandling him the night before and probably from Tony running his own hands through it as he worried.

“You’re an idiot, Steve,” he finally spoke with a soft smile. 

He couldn’t help but let out a bark of surprised laughter at Tony’s unexpected response to Steve pouring his heart out.

“Is that right?” Steve asked.

“Definitely. I’m never wrong, you know. I did the math and you’re an idiot. In fact, you’re the biggest idiot I’ve ever met. Tactical genius, my ass.” Tony continued. The men laughed together, Steve trying to push all of his dreams and desires out of his head once more.

“You know, that’s only the second time you’ve called me by my name in the past month. You normally call me ‘Cap’ or some variation thereof. In fact, in our entire friendship I’m pretty sure you’ve only called me Steve a handful of times.” Steve’s heart was already beating fast. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer to his half question but it hurt too much not knowing.

“Seriously? It’s because I’ve been head over heels for you for basically years now. Don’t give me that look! I’m pretty sure Pep knew before I did. I think that’s why things between us went from bad to worse once I met you. Seriously, stop with the puppy eyes! I just told you that they were already bad – you know what? It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that she and I were never meant to be. I was just sure that you would never be interested in what I had to offer…both emotionally and physically, if you know what I mean. I didn’t want to open myself up, I didn’t want to get too close, because I never thought I’d even have a chance.”

Steve was wrong. He didn’t want the answer. Maybe this was worse than getting flat out rejected. This was hope.

“You do realize that you’re just Steve to me, right?” Steve was caught off guard by Tony’s question. All he could think to do at first was shrug.

Obviously Tony was waiting for a real answer, so Steve finally admitted, “You make me feel like Steve Rogers.”

The brunette grinned. It was one of his real smiles that reached his eyes and made Steve’s stomach lurch. 

“Steve,” Tony whispered as he leaned forward, “you understand, right? I want you, too. We have the chance here to be…to be…I don’t know…normal, if you will. No one else will ever understand each others’ lives like we will. We can have everything we ever dreamed of.”

Steve almost didn’t want to believe him. Almost. He did, though. They could have everything they dreamed of. He could fight with Tony, love Tony, build a future with Tony. They could be Steve and Tony. Steve wanted it so bad. So he kissed him. It was quiet and comfortable. Finally, Tony pulled away and got to his feet, offering Steve a hand.

Steve smiled and accepted it. Instead of climbing to his feet, however, Steve allowed Tony to tug his hand fruitlessly. Steve couldn’t hold back his laughter at Tony’s expression of frustration. It became even funnier when he realized how absurd they looked. Both men disheveled, Tony in a tshirt and boxers that were obviously too big to be his, and Steve in nothing but black slack. It was going to be hard to explain to anyone they might happen to encounter. God forbid the media get a picture of them like this.

“Yeah, that’s fine! Laugh it up, you ton of bricks! What’s so – funny – anyway?” Tony choked out as he started laughing as well. “C’mon, you big lug. Let’s go home. Or get coffee. I don’t know if I’m going to make it all the way back to the tower without coffee. I’m sure the paparazzi would love to see you getting coffee looking all shirtless and hunky. I honestly don’t think those ‘no shirt’ policies stores have apply to you. You being all super human and all.”

“No, Tony. We’re not stopping for coffee.”

“I’ll just take that as a maybe.”

“It’s a no.”

“I just keep hearing maybe.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“You’re beautiful.”

“Tony!”

“And you’re even more beautiful when you blush like that.”

“Stop.”

“You know that your captain voice is more of a turn on than a deterrent, right? Really you just have yourself to blame there because you kept using it before you jumped me.”

Steve just sighed and shook his head. Yep, he definitely felt like Steve Rogers when he was around Tony. He waited as Tony opened his suitcase and donned his Ironman suit. 

“Steve?” The mechanical voice questioned before the face plate snapped up to reveal Tony’s face once again, “I’m really terrible at this, at relationships, at talking, all that. I want to try, though. I want you to know that we don’t have to rush anything. One of these days I would like to be your first, but that’s when you decide you’re ready.” 

Steve just nodded dumbly and muttered out something along the lines of, “right, right.”

The face plate snapped back down and Ironman’s voice came through his speakers, “Just please don’t be waiting for marriage, Cap. You’ve already been giving me blue balls for years.”

With that, he wrapped one arm around Steve’s waist and Steve wrapped his arm over Ironman’s shoulders, clinging tightly for the ride.

“Don’t worry, I’m not.” Steve responded, pointedly not looking at Tony. He could see the helmet swing around to stare at him, but Tony had no response. Tony was entirely too fun to mess with. 

 

For their second date, Steve took Tony to the art museum. To Tony’s credit, he did honestly try to appear not to be bored. It was pretty funny how worked up he got over the modern art exhibit, especially after he got scolded for trying to throw his trash away in what was apparently a piece of art on display.

 

Tony took Steve to Coney Island for their third date. It was thoughtful, it really was. Again, it didn’t seem to be quite Tony’s cup of tea, but they both enjoyed Nathan’s hotdogs and the fireworks that night. They were even able to subtly hold hands in the dark as they watched the lights dance in the sky, and Steve thought that was pretty great. 

 

The next few dates consisted of car shows, a baseball playoff game that woeful did not include the Dodgers, dinners at diners and fancy restaurants where Steve couldn’t pronounce half the dishes on the menus, and more movies and dinners at The Tower than Steve could count. The team seemed supportive, if not relieved, that Steve and Tony were dating. Clint made sure to request that two of them at least not engage in sexual activities in common areas, which Bruce quickly seconded before the motion passed unanimously. Well, almost unanimously, but Steve suspects that Tony only fought it for the sake of fighting.

Steve and Tony were getting to know each other better. They laughed and they fought and overall Steve thought things were going pretty well. 

Which was why they were standing outside the elevator that was about to take Tony up to his penthouse. 

Steve leaned in and kissed Tony, thanking him for a wonderful evening of going to a Greek restaurant and two hours arguing over the pronunciation of ‘gyro.’ 

“I still assert that when in America I’m allow to pronounce it the same as I would gyroscope.” Tony started up again.

“That’s great and all, if you want to be wrong, but I was thinking that maybe I could come upstairs for coffee.” Steve snarked back.

Tony paused and narrowed his eyes at the blonde. Steve held out on smiling, sure that Tony would be the first to crack. Giving Steve an analyzing once over, Tony offered, “I don’t have a coffee maker in my penthouse?”

Steve knew what Tony was trying to ask and it was getting too hard not to laugh, so he skipped to the bluff. “Oh, I must have been mistaken, then. I guess I’ll just go to bed, then.”

“Wait!” Tony reached out and grabbed Steve’s elbow as he made to leave. “Did you want to…go to the kitchen and get coffee…? Or would you like to come upstairs and get coffee?” There was there analyzing stare again.

Steve couldn’t bite the smile back any longer. It was slipping out as he looked away and said, “Oh, but I thought you didn’t have a coffee maker in your penthouse…”

“Get a room, boys.” Natasha snapped out as she walked past.

“I’m trying, Nat!” Steve called out behind her.

Apparently that answered any outstanding questions Tony had. Steve was drug backward into the elevator and found himself engulfed in Tony’s kiss. Steve pushed back, pinning the brunette against the wall. Tony’s tongue swiped against Steve’s lips and Steve caught it in his mouth, sucking it provocatively. Tony moaned and clawed at Steve’s shoulders as the soldier moved to roughly bite Tony’s neck only to kiss and lick the red marks he left. 

Jarvis alerted them that they had reached the penthouse and politely acquiesced to Tony’s request for the lights to be dimmed. 

The men fought to disrobe each other as their mouths met once more. Steve won the race if only because he had no qualms about tearing Tony’s clothes. His prize was getting to tangle his fingers in Tony’s hair and tug him into submission. It only worked momentarily as Tony took advantage of the opportunity to suck and bite on Steve’s nipples. 

“Oh fuck, Tony! Baby, that feels way too good!” Steve managed to get out. He could feel the smaller man’s smirk against his skin and he was definitely going to get him back for that later.

“That’s right, sweetheart. I want you so loud that everyone knows whose pleasuring you.” Tony’s words made Steve shiver, but he wasn’t about to be beat.

Steve tossed Tony back onto the large luxurious bed and climbed on top of him when he made a movement to sit up. Pinning the mechanic’s skilled hands to the soft sheets, Steve could take his time parting Tony’s legs and settling between them. 

Steve knew vaguely what was supposed to happen next. He figured he would work the details out when he got to this point, but the fear of it being terrible was slightly more crippling than he anticipated. He could only continue kissing Tony for so long before it was obvious that he was stalling. 

As if sensing that Steve was searching for something, Tony offered, “Lube. Top drawer on the right. Please try not to pay much attention to the toys in there.”

Steve wasn’t sure he would call the brightly colored items in the drawer toys, but their shapes alluded to certain purposes that made him blush. He grabbed the lube and poured a small amount into his palm. He looked to Tony to see if he was doing it right, but his eyes were screwed shut and he was pumping into his own fist. Steve knew that had to stop immediately. 

“No,” Steve scolded, grabbing Tony’s wrist to still it, “that’s my job and you know it.” 

“Why don’t you make me then?” Tony threatened.

That pushed all the fear from Steve’s mind for the moment as he shoved Tony further back on the bed and dove down to let his mouth take over where Tony’s hand had left off. He was hoping that what he was lacking in technique he was making up for with his enthusiasm. At least the serum assured that he would be a quick learner. Whenever he did something that caused the older man to gasp or moan, Steve made sure to repeat it. He continued to lick and suck, hollowing his cheeks when he looked up to check Tony’s reaction and liberally coating his own arousal with the lube in his hand. He didn’t stop until he knew by the tightness of Tony’s balls that he must be close. 

Taking a deep breath, Steve lined himself up with Tony’s entrance. He swallowed and tried to still his nerves. 

Tony’s eyes snapped open at the pressure. “Woah! Woah! Fingers first!” 

“I...I…uh…I didn’t know! I’m sorry!” Steve stammered, embarrassed and quickly losing steam.

“Stevie,” Tony said softly, reassuring, “you’re doing great, baby. I forgot that you’d never done this before. That’s how well you’re doing.” Tony handed the lube back Steve as the blonde did his best to hide the fact that was blushing all the way down. “Lube your fingers,” Tony instructed, “and open me up, one at a time.”

Steve nodded and tried to bring them both into the mood by giving Tony a filthy kiss. He moaned as Tony surprised him by wrapping a hand around his still hard cock and gave it a few tugs. 

The soldier reciprocated by running a slick finger around the genius’s rim and applying pressure until it slipped it. Apparently this was the right thing to do because Tony arched his back and gasped.

“That’s it, honey. Now fuck me with it,” Tony instructed.

Steve obliged. When it seemed like the smaller man had acclimated to the one finger, Steve added a second. By the time the second finger was moving in and out easily, both men were dripping pre-cum.

Tony looked completely undone and Steve wasn’t sure how much longer he was going to be able to hold out. A slight nod from the mechanic was all the permission he needed. Steve hooked Tony’s legs over his shoulders and lined his cock up for a second time, holding his breath as he gently pushed.

“It’s not going in…” Steve was only slightly panicked. He was pretty sure that Tony’s coughing fit wasn’t a coincidence, either.

“You can push a little harder, sweetie.”

“It’s…it’s not…I don’t want to hurt you…”

“You won’t. I promise. Okay, well, it may hurt just a little, but in a good way. So, just you an itsy bit of your super strength…”

“Okay. Alright. That’s…wow, Tony.” Steve couldn’t find the words to describe how amazing Tony felt. The brunette was moaning and writhing beneath him and this wasn’t going to last very long as this rate. He had to start moving.

He tried to be gentle, but the handsome man beneath him babbling out complements and repeating Steve’s name made him lose control. Thankfully he wasn’t the only one with a short fuse that night. Changing his angle slightly caused his partner to cry out and go into spasms as he reached his climax. Two more strokes and Steve collapsed on top of Tony, the two men gasping in their aftershocks. 

Sighing, Steve rolled to the side. He and Tony made eye contact and he realized that the brunette was wearing the same goofy grin he was. Steve laughed and it felt good. 

“Hey, Steve?” Tony asked for his attention.

“Hmm?”

“Look, I don’t want you to think that this is because of what just happened. I also didn’t want to say it before because then you might think I was only saying it to rush you. I want you to know that I love you, Steve.”

To say he was shocked at an understatement. Yeah, okay. This was good.

Steve smiled. “I love you too, Tony.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> If anyone is interested, I was thinking of doing a story in a "no superpowers" AU with a female Tony. Please let me know in the comments if that's a thing that people will read and enjoy. 
> 
> Anyway, thanks and have a great day!


End file.
